


Man to Man to Emily

by mcgarrygirl78



Series: Something More [9]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: F/M, Family, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-07
Updated: 2014-10-07
Packaged: 2018-02-20 07:57:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2421077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“It was a lot later in life I was having those kinds of conversations with friends.  It usually involved a bong and The Doobie Brothers.  Once or twice, it was Hank Williams.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Man to Man to Emily

“Emily?”

“Yes, Jack Jack?”

“Can we talk man to man?” He asked.

“That’s gonna be a tough one buddy because I'm not a man.”

Jack pondered the thought as he added another puzzle piece to the Dr. Seuss puzzle they were working on.

“Can we talk Emily to man?” He asked.

“Sure.” Emily smiled and nodded. “What's on your mind?”

“It’s complicated.” He replied.

“Do you know what complicated means, Jack?”

“Aunt Jessie says it’s the same thing as hard. Is that right?”

“Yes. You can tell me whatever’s on your mind. Friends can always talk to each other, even about the hard stuff.”

“OK.” Jack took a deep breath. “When you and Daddy get married, you'll be my mommy right? But if you're my mommy, what about Mommy in heaven? My friend Percy says that mommies and daddies are always married. My mommy and daddy weren't married anymore. Were they still my mommy and daddy? What does divorce mean, Emily?”

“Whoa,” Emily put her hand on his shoulder.

She hadn’t meant to say that aloud but the rapid fire line of questioning caught her off guard. She tried to think back to age four, a long time ago, and if she asked such in-depth questions. Her father always told her that she had five questions for every answer. Jack was the same way. He was intelligent and intuitive. There was rarely a moment Emily didn’t find herself in awe of him.

He’d been through so much. First his parents’ marriage fell apart. Then there were threats, protective custody, and the violent death of his mother. No child should have to go through what Jack had been through. Despite that, he was a happy little boy.

Jack was full of life, joy, and curiosity. There were times when he was sad, upset, or worried, which was normal. Jack was never afraid to discuss his feelings. Emily wondered when people lost that openness. Right now she had too much to contemplate to go back in time and think about when it happened to her.

“We should probably have this conversation with Daddy.” She said.

“Why?” Jack asked.

“Its important that the three of us discuss things like this together.”

“Why, Emily?”

“I just don’t want to tell you the wrong thing, Jack. If your daddy and I do it together then we can both make sure you understand. Does that make sense?”

“Mmm hmm.” Jack nodded.

“Really?” Emily was starting to confuse herself so she wondered how Jack was keeping up. She smiled at him. “Good.”

“Let’s ask Daddy right now.”

“Jack…”

He climbed off the couch and rushed over to Hotch’s door. Emily was right on his tail. The door was mostly closed so Jack knocked…he’d been taught that when he was very small.

“Daddy?” He called.

“Come in.” Hotch called.

Jack burst through the door and Emily was with him. Hotch was out of the shower, dressed in sweatpants and a tee shirt. Jack climbed up on the bed but Emily held back. Hotch was too busy looking at his son to notice.

“We need to talk…man to man to Emily.” Jack said.

“What?”

“We need to talk.” Jack repeated.

“OK, what's up?”

Jack spit out all the questions that he’d asked Emily. When he was done, he looked at his father with those big brown eyes. That’s when Hotch looked at Emily. She had a helpless look on her face. He patted the bed beside he and his son; she joined them.

“Shall you take this or shall I, Agent Prentiss?” He asked.

“Oh no, Daddy, the floor is all yours. I don’t even know where to begin.”

“What's the matter, Daddy?” Jack asked, looking at Hotch and then Emily.

“Well buddy, it’s complicated.” Hotch replied.

“That’s what Aunt Jessie said.”

“You talked to Aunt Jessie about this?”

“No.” Jack shook his head. “She said that about other stuff.”

“Well, she was right. Let me see,” Hotch cleared his throat. “Mommy in Heaven is always going to be Mommy.”

“Always?”

“Always, Jack. Mommy and I were divorced but that doesn’t change that we were your parents.”

“What about Emily?” Jack asked. “She’ll be my mommy when you marry her, right? That’s what Percy said.”

Hotch wanted to smack Percy but he was five years old. That wouldn’t go over too well. He placed his hand on his son’s shoulder.

“You know that Emily and I love each other, right?”

“Mmm hmm.” He nodded.

“We love each other very much but we haven’t decided to get married yet. Right now we’re just…” Hotch looked at Emily, his eyes pleading for help.

“We’re getting comfortable as a family, Jack.” Emily jumped in. “So many things have happened recently and we, Daddy and I, want to make sure that everyone is OK before we make any big changes. Do you understand?”

“I'm not sure.”

“Well, we’re going to move to our new house first.” Hotch said.

“Then you’ll get married?” Jack asked.

“Well we have to settle down and that could take a while.”

“How long, Emily?” He was looking at her again.

“I'm not really sure. Jack, I wish I had the answers for you but I don’t.”

“You're gonna marry Daddy though, right? I told Percy you were. I said you wanted to be my mommy.”

“Oh Jack, Jack,” She pulled him into a hug. “I love you so much. You know that I will always love you right?”

Jack nodded.

“I will always be there for you, just like Daddy, Aunt Jessie and the whole BAU. Even still, marriage is some way off, OK? Right now we just want to be together and love each other. Do you understand?”

“I think so. What do I tell Percy?” He asked.

“You can tell him to shut up.” Hotch mumbled.

“Huh?” Jack looked at his father.

“Nothing. You tell Percy that families come in all shapes and sizes; that’s the only real answer I can think of.”

“Do you have anymore questions?” Emily asked.

“Mmm,” His eyes looked skyward. “Nope.”

“Alright kiddo, can you go in the living room and finish your puzzle? I want to talk man to Emily for a few minutes.”

“OK.”

Jack hopped off the bed and ran out. He actually remembered to pull the door back up, a miracle in itself. Hotch looked at Emily; she was smiling.

“What?”

“What? Mommies, daddies, and divorce…its either I laugh or I cry.”

“You handled yourself beautifully.” Hotch replied.

“It was a lot later in life I was having those kinds of conversations with friends. It usually involved a bong and The Doobie Brothers. Once or twice, it was Hank Williams.”

“Hell, Percy had the guts to ask some questions I've been keeping to myself for some time.”

“That’s because he didn’t know he was opening a Pandora’s Box.” Emily said. “I just don’t want Jack to be hurt or confused.”

“I think you don’t want to be hurt or confused either.”

“At least I'm a grownup, Hotch; I can figure things out for myself.”

“Well that puts you one up on me.” He said.

“What do you mean?”

“C'mon,” He took her hand, holding it to his lips. “This was never going to be simple. Everything that’s happened recently makes it more complicated.”

“I'm sorry, but I'm sick to death of the word complicated. I want something to be simple, anything.”

“Pizza is simple. I was thinking about pepperoni pizza for dinner. What do you think?”

Emily leaned to kiss him. She rested her forehead on his; Hotch reached up to cup her cheek.

“I think that’s a good idea. We better run it by the boss first. I’ll go and ask him.”

She got up from the bed, was halfway to the door, when Hotch stopped her. He walked over and kissed her again, this time with more passion.

“I love you.” He whispered. “I love you so much.”

“I know that.”

“You love me?”

“Yes.”

“So much?”

“Yes, Hotch.” Emily grinned.

“Say it please.”

“I love you…so much. And I'm hungry. I’ll go get Jack’s opinion on toppings.”

“OK.”

Hotch smiled as she left the room, holding onto her hand just a little too long. He leaned on the door and watched her talk to Jack. They were whispering together, giggling, smiling…it was perfect. Emily was so good with him; she didn’t miss a beat. She loved the silly questions and the hard ones too. She just loved Jack. Hotch couldn’t put into words how that made him feel.

He knew Jack was safe, secure, and loved. He’d lost so much; there was no way to change that or make it better. Time would dull the pain but never take it away. Still, with Emily he could just be a four year old. He could laugh, do puzzles, and not carry the weight of the world on his shoulders. She was a big part of that. She was a big part of everything now, for father as well as son.

***

  



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